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The plain of Nightmares (overview)
The Plain of Nightmares does not exist in the same way our world does. Reality itself is spread thinly, and consequently it is a place of almost constant darkness, and even when there is light, it does little to alleviate the gloom. Nothing grows in that desolate land, and its inhabitants, hideous creatures that roam in search of what little prey can be found, are not truly alive. Shear reason dictates that they can't possibly exist, but all reason is lost at the sight of such monsters. They crave life, and any unfortunate who inadvertently enters from our world is swiftly hunted by the fiends, and slain simply to harvest the life energy that they carry within them. For those demons, life, like everything else, is a mere resource. The corpses of those unfortunates lie where they fall. No one from outside can afford to stop and bury them, and none of the native creatures would waste such a valuable thing. Human bodies, no matter how decayed, are highly prized among the less corporeal creatures of the plain, and any corpse, no matter who or what its original owner was, are soon claimed by some previously disembodied spirit, or a parasitic creature in need of a host. Even a severed limb or hand will be possessed if possible. The corpses soon deteriorate anyway, and it is very rare to see a possessed body in good condition, without some replaced limbs or patched up wounds. Everything is dangerous in some way, and it is no surprise that weapons are often sought after. While it is possible to find one recently abandoned, more usually one must trade with another creature, be it a demon, or a living corpse. Anything can be bartered in such deals, and often even limbs may be traded without a second thought, crudely transplanted between traders, and replaced with a tool or weapon or something that is of more use to its original owner. Blades such as machetes are common, as are scythes and even chainsaws, although the latter are rarely run on conventional fuel, instead using harvested life. Firearms are also used, but not as frequently, as ammunition soon runs scarce in a world with no real society or civilisation. The world itself is flat, like many geographers once thought ours was. It spirals outward from a central point, stretching over distances far greater than our own world's circumference, until it curves up in vast cliffs, so tall they penetrate the constant layer of dark clouds that replaces the sky here. The outer land is mostly rocky, with huge, sharply pointed mountains thrusting upwards like spears. Further in, some plants grow, although like all the fauna of the world, they feed on living things. Vast thorn-covered vines like brambles cover much of the land here, with bodies so badly entwined and impaled in the branches that not even the restless spirits can pull them free. The inner land is also split into segments which change following no obvious pattern or logic. Often the brambles will spontaneously give way to the razor sharp barbed wire of a battle field, and in an instant a burning desert could become a freezing ice sheet, or solid ground could give way and become an inescapable quagmire. This effect occurs more and more frequently towards the centre of the world, and there is no way to avoid it, as above the ground constant flocks of ravens and vampiric creatures foil any attempt at flight, and while the effect does not penetrate far below ground, Entering the labyrinth of tunnels below means certain death. Usually, not even the demons enter the tunnels, as the traps and pitfalls within them rarely fail to kill, and those that survive find nothing of any value to justify coming down, only more traps and more tunnels, and even less hope of escape. At the dead centre of the plain, the land then flows steeply upwards as a jagged pinnacle, a whirlwind of pointed bones and razor sharp blades spiralling towards the clouds. Just before it penetrates the stormy sky, it fans outward, the spikes unravelling, to form a flat plateau, the highest point of the world. And here stands the master of this realm, his long coat flowing away behind him, watching over his land. From him flows great clouds of dust, that billow across the entire macabre landscape, and as they flow they become the fiends that roam the land. He himself changes form, much like his world does. One moment he may take the form of a living entity, his face obscured by bandages save for his eyes, which burn like brimstone from beneath his wide brimmed hat, one hand clutching a rod of some black substance, the other a mass of bone-like talons. Then he changes form again, and those claws are not bones scything through the air, but actual scythe blades, and that hand is a cold steel gauntlet that crackles with lightning, and instead of blazing brimstone eyes, four small telescopes of brass emerge from the bandaged head, their cold lenses devoid of all emotion. And then he changes again, and more unspeakable horrors unfold. Behind him, the bony tower forms doors, windows, portals between worlds. For those who fall into this world, this is their only hope of escape, for those doors are the only way back to our universe. However, with the grim lord standing before them, it is impossible to pass. Instead, one must attempt to sneak past when he leaves to join his brethren in their hunt, or passes those doors himself in search of victims. And so escape becomes a deadly game against the dark one, attempting to evade him long enough to leave. But it is not just the exit that the overlord guards. The world holds one single great secret, which the tyrant protects even more so than the exit. And that secret is the one good thing that exists in this plain. It is that the archfiend cares about his people, and about the world he keeps. That is why he draws unfortunate victims into his domain. There is no life here, and so he provides it for his people from the other world. Anything his people have need of, he brings in from other places. All to ensure that his realm, and his people, will continue, in its own way. No one has ever uncovered the truth, and he intends for it to remain so. Those who know the truth need never again despair at the evil that permeates all things, and instead rest knowing that even at the heart of the darkness, there is light. Category:Descriptive Category:Horror Category:Fantasy Category:13th Madman Category:Worlds